Day 2 of the 2020 New Japan Cup delivered in ways that surpassed many fans’ expectations during the COVID-19 period of professional wrestling. Despite the differing circumstances, and an impressive Day 1 to follow, the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) didn’t hold back.
The first match of the event saw NJPW Los Angeles (LA) Dojo Young Lion, Gabriel Kidd faces former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori. While Kidd came prepared, showing that he has the potential to be a breakout star in NJPW, his Bullet Club advisory was too much for him. Ishimori was able to gain the victory by submission with the Yes Lock.
The second match saw NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lion, Yuya Uemura face Suzuki-Gun member Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The veteran showed why he is one of the most underrated in-ring performers in wrestling today; Kanemaru was clean, slick, and once again delivered impeccable timing. While Uemura will almost certainly win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship numerous times during his career — he wasn’t able to overcome the savvy of Kanemaru.
The second round of the New Japan Cup on June 24th will see Kanemaru and Ishimori match up.
The third match of the event saw the CHAOS team of IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi 3K (Sho/Yoh), Yoshi-Hashi, and Hirooki Goto face the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) team of NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions Bushi, Evil, and NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi.
SHO/Shingo meet on June 22nd in the first round of the New Japan Cup, while Bushi/Yoh face on another on June 23rd. The match featured an impressive amount of physicality as Shingo and Sho battled one another. Despite his background in Jiu-Jitsu, Sho continues to try and outpower Shingo — a consistent theme since Shingo made his October 2018 NJPW debut.
Bushi and Yoh also had several sequences against one another as the eight individuals looked for momentum going into their first-round matches. Goto would pin Bushi at the twelve-minute and sixteen-second mark.
